SPECIAL REPORT: Discussion about a sale of Western Power is taking place against a backdrop of rapid technological change in the sector, as networks brace for an onslaught of competition from battery storage.
Perth's residential rental vacancy rate has reached a record high of 5.2 per cent with 10,738 homes currently untenanted, according to property group SQM Research.
GR Engineering Services wrapped up the 2016 financial year with record revenue and increased profit, but says competition for design and construction opportunities remains high.
Woolworths has announced its exit from the home improvement sector, with all of its Masters stores to close in early December and the properties to be redeveloped by a private consortium, while its Home Timber & Hardware business is to be sold to Metcash.
Perth-based Sheffield Resources has tapped investors for a $17.1 million capital raising to fund completion of a bankable feasibility study on its $271 million Thunderbird mineral sands project near Derby.
Qantas shareholders will receive another $500 million of capital after Australia's biggest airline delivered an 84.7 per jump in annual net profit to $1.03 billion, thanks to benefits from its operational overhaul and lower fuel prices.
Oil prices have risen after reports that Iran was sending positive signals it may support joint OPEC action to prop up the market, before the market pared gains on trade data showing a surprise build in US crude stocks.
Gold is largely unchanged as markets shifted focus from hawkish comments by a Federal Reserve official over the weekend to a meeting of global central bankers later this week that might provide hints on the timing of a US interest rate increase.
Labor: pass our budget cuts tooOpposition Leader Bill Shorten will try to put pressure back on the government over budget repair today by insisting it adopt more than $8 b
Waste management company Tox Free Solutions has lifted its dividend payout after releasing a mixed set of annual results that included weak earnings from its Western Australian and Queensland operations, but solid growth elsewhere on the east coast.
Rox Resources' joint venture partner Teck Australia has voiced concern today with the company's proposed sale of its stake in the Reward zinc-lead project to Marindi Metals, after competing bidder IM Medical said last week an exclusivity agreement had been breached.
Vocus Communications is targeting the consumer market and has its sights on becoming Australia's "most loved telco", after its full-year profit more than trebled in the wake of mergers with M2 Group and Amcom.
Perth-based gold miner Troy Resources says it expects to record an $87 million impairment in its full-year accounts, with the majority of the charge attributed to the sale of its Casposo project in Argentina.
The desire to bash the banks is understandable when some of their past behaviour is considered; but before the bashing goes too far, it is important critics know what it would mean to damage an important part of the Australian economy at a delicate point in the global economic cycle.
Local aquaculture firm Seafarms Group has announced its second capital raising in the past two months, this time tapping investors for $11 million to fund ongoing work at its $1.45 billion Sea Dragon prawn project.
Shares in engineering firm Monadelphous Group fell sharply today after it posted a 27 per cent slide in profit on the back of lower activity in the resources and energy sectors and predicted contracting margins would remain under pressure.
Gold prices have hit a two-week low as upbeat comments from Federal Reserve officials on the US economy boosted expectations that the central bank could lift interest rates sooner rather than later.
Oil prices have fallen more than 3 per cent on supply worries, while US Treasuries rose and stocks flattened as markets awaited more clarity later this week from the Federal Reserve on when it might raise US interest rates.
